Thursday, 16 January 2014

Best 24 Albums of 2013: #24 to #21

2013
was an exceptional year for music – not just for one or two genres, but for
music, period. So many artists released so many great records that it became
impossible to listen to everything, and what one listened to largely depended
on one’s own personal tastes. I spent most of the year with indie-rock and -pop
records while indulging a long-time passion for folk music and Americana. There are quite
a few albums I know I missed, and while I feel some regret that I didn't get to
them, well, that's what 2014 is for.

Honourable
Mentions:

Federal
Lights - We Were Found in the Fog

Josh
Ritter - The Beast in Its Tracks

Los
Campesinos! - No Blues

Nataly
Dawn - How I Knew Her

Royal
Canoe - Today We're Believers

24. Diane Birch - Speak
a Little Louder

Diane Birch’s first album Bible Belt was widely acclaimed as not only one of the most assured debuts of 2009 but also for the way Birch
incorporated influences from the ‘70s singer-songwriter pop of Carly Simon and
Carole King into her own fully-formed aesthetic. Four years later, Birch has returned with Speak a Little Louder, a record still
grounded in the music of her debut while owing more of a debt to Elton John
and Hounds of Love-era Kate Bush.
This stylistic shift, to her credit, doesn’t sound like selling out – rather,
it feels like a natural evolution from one of this decade’s most promising
young artists.

23. Brendan Canning – You
Gots 2 Chill

The first word that comes to mind when I think
of You Gots 2 Chill is ‘mesmerizing.’ Brendan Canning has constructed an intricate record that still feels organic, as the oddly danceable "However Long" and the quiet intimacy of "Late Night Stars" aptly demonstrate. Easy to
dismiss as ‘bedroom music’, You Gots 2
Chill becomes more compelling with each listen.

22. Sky Ferreira – Night
Time, My Time

Thankfully, despite its lengthy and complex origin and development,
Sky Ferreira’s debut was worth the wait. The best songs on Night Time, My Time are remarkably perceptive; they’re potent
distillations of the messiness within the human mind and heart.

21. Laura Veirs – Warp
and Weft

Singer-songwriter Laura Veirs is one of American folk music’s
best-kept secrets. She’s been releasing consistently strong records over the
past decade – her last two were the sublime July
Flame (#7 on my 2010 best-of list) and the refreshingly unsentimental
children’s record Tumble Bee –with increasing critical and commercial success.Warp and Weft, her eighth album, is one
of her most eclectic releases yet, ranging from the Americana of “Sun Song” and
“Shape Shifter” to the haunting, electric guitar-driven lamentation “Dorothy of
the Island.” All in all, an excellent addition to Veirs’ already impressive
discography.